The Way of Life
by YukikoMon
Summary: AU where the girls doesn't have superpowers but are super in their own way with their counterparts serving as heroes commanded to fight off the imminent danger posed by the feud of two powerful groups, Mafia and Yakuza. Rated T: cuz language
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** AU where the puffs didn't exist but they're extraordinary civilians, the ruffs (calling them The Triad here) brings justice, traditional pairing though. You can count on that.

Moreover, I want to clarify these two groups I'm going to identify in this fanfic since I'm not an expert with their erm… "culture"? So this is somewhat how they are in this abomination I'm going to write- lol.

Mafia: protection racketeering, loan sharking, hired assassins

Yakuza: basically like what mafia does but more territorial, all members are of blood-related

Some groups would be uh made up ones haha. Anyway, on with the story

And oh, reviews and critiques are encouraged!

* * *

A faint breeze entered the room just about to brush on her bangs. Keeping her eyes steady was hard enough. She bit her lower lip, refusing to let out a tempting yawn. She felt a tap on her shoulder.

"You okay, Momoko?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

"You've been headbanging for a couple of minutes." Her purple-haired friend gave her a skeptical look.

"I was?" Momoko's face flushed bright pink. She hadn't realized she dozed off earlier.

"You gotta stop binge reading mangas." She commented with a faint snicker.

"I wasn't!" Momoko hissed. For someone who has big projects due for a week consuming her little free time, crankiness is inevitable. Nonetheless she loved working on those. Designing weapons was her forte.

But these projects were probably the worst- more appropriately- ridiculous as she'd put it. Why in the world would they want a vehicle that can outmatch a tank? _They_ are more destructive than any work I've put into; superhumans for god's sake.

The buzzing of the school bell didn't help her situation. Still, she thanked she's done with half of this obligatory education.

She felt a warm hand over her forehead. "Well, you don't have a fever."

"No, I'm just tired." Momoko giggled softly. "Thanks, Miyako."

"You're always tired y'know." Her other friend said while munching on her bento. "You should sleep early. Take care of your health!"

"It's not that easy, Kaoru." She merely pouted.

Momoko sometimes wishes she was like Miyako, aside from the strict grandma, she was just a simple girl- beautiful at that. No responsibilities or deadlines.

Her phone buzzed.

 _Or annoying subordinates_. No way in hell she'd accept those rude, self-righteous pricks as the big guns… even if they were.

"Ah. Those commissioners I've talked about." She gave an apologetic smile to her friends.

"Not even gonna eat lunch?"

"I'll just be on the phone outside." Momoko rolled her eyes at their concern but it felt nice.

Closing the door as she left the class, she pressed the answer button. "WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG?"

"Jesus- it's lunch!" Momoko felt her nerves twitch. "What do you wa-"

"We've come up with another idea. So just trash the other thing that we asked."

"Wha- Are you crazy!?" She was halfway done with the project and now they want something else!? Furious isn't even gonna cut what she's feeling right now.

"Boo. It's fine we'll cover the expense. We'll talk later." And click, the call ended.

The urge to throw her phone at that son of a cow's face was strong. Her patience was running thin but well, she hated their first idea in the first place so she let it go for now.

She went back to her room and started chewing furiously at her food.

Kaoru was about to comment on something but a loud deafening squeal got beyond her words.

"Look this way!" Girls were swooning, harmonizing with the other classes; if you call monkey screeching a harmony. "It's the Shishido brothers"

"They're so cool!"

"Ugh, are they blind?" Momoko seethed.

Kaoru raised her eyebrow at this. "I thought you liked those types of guys?"

"No way, I have better tastes." She blew a raspberry on her.

"I don't see the difference." Kaoru muttered while sipping her orange juice.

Meanwhile, Miyako was having a look at the commotion. "They look nice."

"Peh." The two just eyed Momoko questionably.

* * *

They were out of class and Miyako was heading for her locker. As usual, people greet her. How lovely she was. How pretty her dress looked.

 _Snakes. Scums of the earth._ She'd give them her purest smile. Fools would think that she's a wholesome being. Well, she was till she happens to know what her future holds.

Was this the so called phase? She had always been obedient. Never missed out on her grandmother's teaching. She should have known though. From the moment she was formed in her mother's tummy, her life was decided.

She felt being used. She hated it. She hated that she had this autopilot self that would hide what she really was.

"Miyako, want me to walk you home?" Kaoru just popped from somewhere. Sometimes this girl scares her. She would just move swiftly without noise. It was troubling. "Man, we were called out early today. Coach had some important business or something."

"Thanks, Kaoru! You're the best." Miyako was glad she had wholesome friends. What would they think if she was just like those girls? "I guess Momoko's busy with something?"

"Yeah, told me about the commissioning stuff."

"I hope she's alright."

* * *

"Wow, what a secure place to talk about things." Momoko sarcastically said as she scans the menu. "Don't you think this is risky, Yokaze?"

When she got no response, she smacked the guy's hand lightly with the said menu. "Especially for _me_."

"Look at the death stare those girls are giving me." She glared at the orange-head in front of her.

"Relax, would you?" He smirked while having that playful glint in his eyes. Usually, Momoko would have melted on that. But she knew him too well. "And who told you we'll talk about it here? Pick already."

Momoko blinked twice. Why was he nice now? "If this is your apology for that project-"

"Pfft. You'd really think I'd apologize?"

Momoko narrowed her eyes. "I'm getting the most expensive then."

"Only that?" _That_. That cockiness that she wants to shove in his damned throat. He gestured at the waitress.

"What would be your order?"

* * *

Miyako looked over to a fancy café and got a surprise as she saw a familiar pink-eyed friend. "Isn't that?"

Kaoru was chomping on her ice cream which baffled Miyako on how she can bite on that teeth-cringing treat without getting all sensitive. She pointed the direction. "It's Momoko."

"Hm?" Kaoru, looking uninterested, took a lazy head turn. "OH, HELL."

"And she said she wasn't interested." Miyako laughed and stopped Kaoru from going over. "Kaoru! We can ask her tomorrow."

"I want to cheer her on!" Miyako sighed at her friend's odd antics.

"Why didn't she tell the truth?"

"Just let her be, she looks like she's having fun." There was a gentle smile on her. "She's been stressed for a week, let's let her be."

"I guess." Kaoru still had her eyes wide open. "I'm so calling her after this."

* * *

"Mom, Dad, I'm home!" Kicking off her shoes, she made a run to her room but is stopped by her mom.

"You've got another package!" Somehow she sounded bitter despite that cheery face she gave.

"Oh." Kaoru had been getting free stuffs, sometimes annoying, from a certain uncle only named as her 'Secret Santa' since her first birthday. She talked about it with her mom once and it ended up to verbal fighting. "Good that it's a small box, heh." Big boxes meant clothes- dresses to be precise.

She took it and went upstairs. She pressed dial on her phone and was about to call her friend. She reconsidered. _Maybe they weren't done yet. I don't wanna be pokey about it._

She looked at the small box. There was a tag with 'Secret Santa' written on it. She started shaking the box. _Oh, god it's a jewelry._

She put it beside the boxes she hadn't open yet, sat on her desk to do her homework.

A minute of brainstorming for an essay, she absentmindedly thought about the gift. _Dang it._ Her curiosity got to her. Sighing, she picked it up and opened.

 _Holy shit._ It wasn't that bad. It had a herringbone golden chain and sat at it was a small green tourmaline gemstone surrounded by diamonds. The necklace wasn't big but it kinda weighed a bit for a necklace.

Unlike the other gifts, it has a note.

" _Dear child, I may not last long in this place. I want you to have this as a reminder that I have loved you since you were born. You are my little goddess. My wish would be is that you wear this every day to not forget me. Signed, Your Loving Grandfather."_

 _We definitely have to talk about this_. "MOOOOM!"

* * *

Miyako had prepped herself for a bath. She faced her old room. Somehow the colors turned dull in her view. Not to mention her things packed in boring beige boxes. Her room was full of it now, ready to take off somewhere not far but very unfamiliar. Later on, she will too.

She huffed. She'd done this whenever she's stressed, uneasy. She needed a long bubble bath.

* * *

This was a weird day. Momoko jumped to her bed relieving the exhaustion. She checked her phone. "No calls."

He was acting weird and even walked home/office with her. _Walked._ Brick usually have his car over. Chit chatting wasn't fun either. Momoko didn't know what he could get from this.

But you know what they say, calm before the storm.

Her phone buzzed, she instantly picked it up. Her face lit up as she answered. "Hey, mom!"

"How have you been there? Are they treating you well?"

"Oh well, it's actually nice here." _Minus the bastard_. "I'm doing well. How about you guys?"

The call lasted about 7 minutes and the instant they said their goodbyes and hung up, another caller popped on her notifications.

 _Ugh, Brick._ "Geez, desperate much?" She heard a weird sound from the other line.

"Hell no." Brick coughed out. "Was your phone turned off? You know-"

"My _parents_ called." If only he could see how far she's rolling her eyes right now. "Why did you have to call? I'm literally two floors below you."

"Well that's… I need to uh." A long pause. "Fine, I'll e-mail it."

Momoko sighed. " _And…_ There goes the beep."

"I haven't ended it yet- whatever. Goodnight." The tone was cold but that was _hella_ weird.

Momoko shrugged and thought he probably had food poisoning and would reboot to his old self tomorrow.

She thought about the next project. "Well, that's a problem I'd be facing tomorrow."

* * *

 **Ch.1 end**

 **Thanks for reading~**


	2. Chapter 2

This was going to be a long night for the boys.

For starters, this had been their first screw up in an attempt to arrest an alleged _boar_. Boomer came up a nickname for the assassins sent by the notorious Mafia group. Brick wasn't happy. He prided himself over the years where his strategies played out well. But now, it wasn't going where he wants it to be.

 _This isn't your playground anymore._ Brick remembered what it said before dashing off at a high speed.

"Get your shit together!" Brick seethed at the panting green-eyed which in turn gave a glare.

" _My_ shit?" Butch scoffed. " _You_ were getting distracted."

"How should I know he could do that?" Brick clenched his fist. Problem would arise if their enemies had _that_ sort of power too.

"Damn. He was really fast." Boomer said making it sound like a compliment.

"Which side are you on?" Butch sighed in exhaustion.

"There's no way they have a copy of _that_ , right?" He looked at Brick then back at Butch.

"Let's hope not." Brick sighed and gestured to his brothers, calling it a night.

As they were out in the building, Brick sent a signal to the police officers waiting outside with some detectives. They obliged and went on securing the place.

* * *

Kaoru's mother, Mitsuko, had this look Kaoru never thought her Mother could give. It was something between sad but somehow angry. She didn't press on it. "Uhh, it came with this?" She showed the necklace and it earned a gasp from her mother.

"It's…" Mitsuko sighed. "This is a family heirloom." She then smiled. "Mom used to wear this."

"Do you…uh miss him?" Kaoru scratched her head. Man, she didn't really know how to take in these kinds of things.

Mitsuko was silent. She just went on smiling and gestured Kaoru. "Come here." She placed the necklace around Kaoru's neck. Her mother never mentioned her side of family. She heard her father once said that it was complicated and her mother's dad never really approved of him.

"Keep it safe, Kaoru." She patted her head and went downstairs. "Oh and dinner's ready!"

 _Shit_. Now, she was curious.

* * *

The next day passed and Butch couldn't contain his laughter as Brick burnt a croissant.

"Why the hell would you heat it up!?" Boomer was mad. It was his. He touched the burnt piece of bread. "Fuck. I was looking forward to this."

"I thought it was the carbonara, okay!?" Brick spat out, shakily opening the fridge to find the said dish. "Where the fuck is it."

"Oh, god." Butch was still at it. "How could you miss it?"

"Great. I woke up early to see a bunch of ungrateful twats."

"All you had to do was heat up a leftover." Boomer couldn't contain his disappointment. "I swear I need to get my own fridge."

"Yo bitches, stop your arguing. Daddy's hungry."

Brick glared while Boomer threw the dead croissant. "Headshot!"

* * *

Butch hated being normal. He hated school. Hell, he hated everything… except the part where he's in the center of attention.

It was lunch time and he just had to display the god that he is. He swears he could make any girl lose it with only his eyes. And then, Brick just had to be by his side.

"Mind the view."

"All I see is a piece of shit." Brick put down his lunch tray, and eyed the forming group of girls- scratch that- people. He gave a sly smile which caused uproar.

"Ugh, I'm surrounded by narcissistic pricks." Boomer took a bite of his sandwich.

"Says the one who changes clothes like a girl."

He gave an irritated look but dismissed it as he saw a certain pink-eyed girl. "Oh hey, it's your girlfriend."

Brick questioned with his looks and Boomer gestured at his back.

"Oh- I'm really sorry!" Momoko had apparently shoved her lunch on some guy.

"It's okay." A chestnut-haired boy with bronze eyes looked apologetic. "I wasn't looking anyway."

"Oh hey! It's Natsuki." Another guy with spikey purple hair went near her. She'd look like a guy but her over-pronounced bumps say otherwise.

"Here, I have wet tissues." A blonde girl offered.

"Oh, that one's cute." Butch mentioned.

Boomer had to agree and nudged Butch. "Yokaze's feeling out of it."

Brick lingered for unnecessary amount of time until he locked eye contact with the green-eyed girl.

"That reminds me." She grinned. "We have lots of things to talk about Momoko. See ya, Natsuki."

He smiled. "Later, Kaoru."

"Ooh. Someone's jealous." Butch cooed which earned him a splash of meatballs on his face.

"Are you fucking serious." The hell's up with people throwing food at him today.

* * *

"It wasn't a date." Momoko chomped on her Yakisoba bread. "He was that commissioner."

"What do you do anyway?" Kaoru took a bite out of her bento.

"Cards!" She suddenly blurt out. "I mean- y'know, kind of like Hallmark cards?"

"Why doesn't he just buy one?"

"It's personalized-"

"Aw, that's sweet." Miyako pointed out.

"-with those popping out stuff. It's complicated."

"He didn't strike me as that cheesy kind of guy." Kaoru shrugged and Momoko felt relieved they bought the story.

"Can we take a look?"

"Absolutely not!" Momoko jumped out of her seat. "I- I mean it's private matters."

"You need to chill out." Kaoru had a look of concern. "You sure this isn't stressing you?"

Momoko sighed and composed herself. "No, it's just- there's a lot on my mind right now."

"Yeah, you even tripped at nothing earlier." Kaoru snickered.

"It wasn't nothing!" Momoko tried to scowl but ended up pouting. "I swear I felt someone else's foot."

Miyako's phone started to ring and she excused herself. "Yes, Gotokuji speaking?"

"Miyako-chan." A soft voice of a woman echoed. "I'll be sending a ride later this afternoon to pick you up. At what time does your school usually end?"

"At three o'clock, mother."

"I hope it's not bad there. I could always transfer you-"

"It's okay mom. I like it here. And you don't need to worry." They exchanged goodbyes.

Miyako got mixed feelings about this. Sure, she'd see her parents more often now but then, she'd be obliged to act as the successor of the family.

A sudden wave of sirens near the area followed by a loud crash echoed through the school yard. It sent students running, some were screaming, for their own safety.

"Holy shit."

The three girls stared with wide eyes. "What the fuck are you still doing here?"

Simultaneously, the girls looked up to see a floating person. He had a traditional black superhero mask that didn't hide his piercing red eyes. His top was covered with a black suit with a red tie but had a strapped cargo pants along with combat boots. The sleeves of the black suit were folded up till his elbow and he had black gloves that stopped at his wrists. Obviously, He was Brick from the Triad.

Momoko had to admire. _Damn._ She, with the help of others, designed them- their suits good.

"Momoko, let's go!" Kaoru shouted and grabbed her somewhat entranced friend.

When they got to a secure place, they heard cheering. "They're here!"

"They're real! Oh my god!"

"Are you seeing this?" Kaoru had managed to croak out. She looked over to her friends who were busy with something. Momoko looked serious as someone was speaking through her phone. Miyako's face was dead cold. She was talking- or it looked like she was instructing at someone over the phone.

"Am I missing out or something?" She vent out bitterly. There was a bunch of girls having a commotion. She peeked and saw Himeko getting pampered as she hyperventilated.

"They've come for me."

 _I wish._ Kaoru rolled her eyes at this.

Bored, Kaoru made her way to a nearby window. The view wasn't much. Still, it made her see what was happening outside.

"Students, we have to evacuate this place immediately!" The Principal's voice rang through the gym, where they were currently at. "Teachers would you please help us evacuate the students."

 _Aw, we're missing out the details._

"Remember to tally down your students!"

* * *

"Brick, what are you doing?" A voice of a woman through his earpiece gave a stern warning. "You weren't supposed to be at daylight!"

"Cops are dying, Tess!" He hissed. "What do we got here?"

Butch had come through their conversation. "Apparently, some dipshit fucked up with the Mafia's money."

"Where's Boomer?"

"I'm helping out with the evacuation." They heard noises on Boomer's line. "Going there now."

"They're supposed to deal with their shit low-key." Brick was tending to the cops involved, moving them to a safer place.

"Our intelligence report says that he signed a huge deal with them but backed out." Tess reported to the three. "We have no idea yet where he got those weapons."

A huge rocket went in for Brick but he kicked it off, flying upwards where it blew up.

"What does the fucker look-" Brick spotted a man running towards a cliff with some sort of a device gripped by his hands. He dashed towards it but Butch had him first.

Butch punched the lights out of him. He gave Brick a smug smile. Brick just rolled his eyes. "We got the dipshit." He reported back to Tess.

"What did I miss?" Boomer shouted at their backs.

* * *

Kaoru just had to separate from the group. The fight wasn't as intense as she'd expected but damn, the way Brick had kicked the rocket away like a fly was superb. She wasn't intending to stay and watch until someone tapped her shoulder. "Students are evacuating." She was gestured to get a move on.

"Yeah, yeah." She complied though there was something off with the Teacher, assuming he was.

She stopped. _Why weren't there any student with her?_ She wasn't the only one who was left behind. She trusted her gut instinct. She turned and kicked the man square in the abdomen. She tried to run for it but right in front of her another man stood with a gun raised to line with her forehead. "I'd comply if I were you."

With a scowl on her face, she surrendered. _Was this karma?_

* * *

"Are the students all in?" They've decided to evacuate to a nearby mall's parking lot.

"Mr. Principal. We've got missing students."

The boys, in their usual self, were already with the class when they each of the Teachers tallied their students.

Brick was looking out for Momoko and he heard a small gasp on his side.

"Momoko, have you seen Kaoru!?" It was the blondie earlier.

"I thought she was with you!" Worry crept into her face. "Oh god no. Maybe, she's just somewhere."

"Everyone, calm down." The Principal used a megaphone. "The buses will be here in a moment. Do calm down and wait for your turn of ride."

Himeko was the first one to go home since her ride was there. And soon enough, students were clearing up.

"She's not picking up." Momoko didn't want to think about it but her anxious mind was making it worse.

She then felt a hand on her head. "There weren't students involved at the reports."

"Except the kidnapping-" Butch had butted in. Brick gave him a 'not helping' look.

"I didn't know you were friends with them, Momoko-san." The blonde bowed as a greeting. "My name's Miyako Gotokuji."

"Ugh. They're not my friends just-"

"Childhood friends." Brick interrupted.

" _-Acquaintances._ "

"I'm Saito-"

"The name's Ryuuno." Boomer pushed his brother slightly and held out a hand. They shook on it. "Pleasure to meet you."

"Is there a need for that?" Butch growled.

"What about the kidnapping?" Momoko asked Brick with concern.

"Uh. We just heard-" He scratched his head. "-from the teachers. Anyway, the police are probably up to it right now."

"You really think they can do something?" Miyako suddenly stated grimly.

"Those guys earlier though, maybe they can!" Boomer tried to lighten up the mood. "They looked cool, right?"

"The Triad?" Momoko deadpanned while Miyako gave a little giggle. "I guess you're right."

The teachers called their attention. It was their turn to leave. Momoko gave Brick a look which meant for them to talk later.

* * *

"We've kidnapped every purple-haired person in the school." The man who raised a gun before Kaoru looked at the seated man before him.

"Well then, it's time to send a message to Mujihina."

* * *

 _ **ch02 end**_ **.**

 **Thanks for reading~**

 **Please, review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** Thank you **Iloveyou568, Ti, CadetKatan** for reviewing!

Regarding Kaoru's hair color, I read somewhere in the internet that they made it purple because black didn't match up with Momoko and Miyako's "odd" hair color- well, not exactly those words. Maybe they thought black was too plain. But yes, originally her design had black hair; still I liked it as purple-ish, blue-ish- or in between? idk Haha

* * *

 _What time was it now? 7- 8 pm?_ Kaoru winced at the indentations dug by the tight rope on her wrists. She managed to free her hands, glad that only her hands were tied. Above her, light seeps through the small gaps and a faint stench of fish enters the room. She examines it and finds one which was out of place. _A hatch_. The place was wobbly as she tries to find anything to climb on or a pole would suffice.

"We're on a ship, aren't we?" A senior, who kept on crying, spoke up. "They're going to sell our guts!"

"What!?" Another one spoke.

"J-Just calm down." Some guy cowering in the corner reassured. "I think the p-police are coming for us."

The place was suddenly filled with outbursts and doubts, most of them crying hysterically.

Two thumps of foot sent shivers on their spine. "Quiet down there or else you'll be the first one to die!"

"Come and get us then, bastard!" Kaoru shouted back.

"O-oi, don't rile them up!" Somebody hissed.

"Why you little-" The hatch was almost open but another voice came through. "Stop falling for their taunts. What are you five?" The voice was stern. The room got colder as he mentioned us.

"Save your screams for later, okay?"

* * *

Miyako's heels clicked as she faced the new place she'll be staying at. It wasn't that far from her school and the place was discreet. The entrance was mostly covered with huge trees, obscuring the traditional Japanese mansion. She took notice on how peaceful the place looked, trying to loosen her tense with nature. Miyako never knew her mother much. She was five when she was asked to live with her grandmother. And within those five fragile years, there's only one scene that burnt in her memory like an ugly scar.

A dim light flickered on the image of her mother in a small room. She was gripping on a bloodied knife next to a collapsed woman, her kimono soaking in something red. She turned and placed a finger on her lips, giving out a small smile.

 _Splash!_

Miyako turned to see a pond with koi fishes in it. At the side of it was a bamboo fountain. It's a good place to relax but her sweating palms say otherwise. It was just a bad nightmare but she didn't want to cross out the possibility. It was too vivid.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" A familiar voice caught her attention. A woman who would pass as her twin if she was younger stood on the corridor wearing a faint smile. "I'm glad you got here safely."

"Thank you for the escorts you sent mother." Miyako bowed gracefully.

When they both entered, they were greeted by a parallel line of men who bowed at a respectful angle. They were in black business suits, metal swords in each of their sides.

It was her mother who led her to her room, unpack her things. They made small talk but she knew where it would end.

"By the way, you haven't mentioned about the events that happened in your school?" Her mother's hand was tight against her shoulder but in an instant pulled it away. "I'm just worried."

"It was just some criminal, mother." Miyako answered politely. "Merely a coincidence that his vehicle wound up in our school."

"I heard there were missing students." Her mother quipped.

She wanted to lie. Something inside her senses danger if she does and that _dream_ was of no help. "Yes."

"You don't have to be tense around me dear." She grimaced. "I'm your mother, you can trust me."

Miyako only gave a faint smile. "I don't doubt that."

Her mother sighed and gave Miyako some space. Before leaving, she added. "Dinner will be ready in an hour."

* * *

Momoko couldn't contain her worry as she tapped furiously at her desk. Her eyes narrowed at the gleaming screen, focusing her attention to the smallest detail. Multiple shots from the city's surveillance cameras scattered on her screen.

"If only I had placed trackers on her-" No, she couldn't do that if she wanted to. She knew that'd be invasion of privacy. And she had enough of Professor's bickering. So she simply sighed as she waited for updates.

"Moccha, I think I've found them!" Boomer's voice echoed through her earpiece, breaking the silence. She flinched at the sudden noise.

"Don't scream!" Momoko hissed. "And don't call me that."

Momoko immediately encoded his coordinates to the other two. "Why not? It's better than plain 'Red'."

Red. That was her agent code name. That was three years before the boys appeared. She promised herself that she'd be the best of the agents in the company. Started at a young age, a prodigy. It was somehow bittersweet. She was ready to be in the field when Professor presented the three. He made no explanation where they came from. But thanks to that, she remained in the facility.

At first, she hated them but things are different now.

"I've sent your coordinates, you better be right."

* * *

"Fuck, I hate the docks." Butch scrunched up his nose at the terrible mix of dead fish and bird shit. He was nowhere near it but his heightened senses picks up the tiniest smell of disgust.

"I'm sorry it didn't suit your taste, milady." Brick mocked behind him, checking their distance between Boomer. "We're close. Let's go."

Butch was still glaring at Brick while they dashed at Boomer's location. It was hard to spot where the actual location is. They did not expect that there would be a bunch of ships huddled in that place; though some were moving into different locations.

"Boomer, describe the ship." Brick commanded through the earpiece but the only response he got was a loud static accompanied by the sound of explosion somewhere beside them. "Damn it!" He took off the earpiece by reflex.

Looking back at the explosion, they saw Boomer trying to balance himself on air as he was pushed back.

* * *

Kaoru was mad. Not only that she couldn't find anything useful but also the fact that she couldn't get any help from anyone. Most were terrified, some were downright hopeless. Out of frustration she took off her shoe and threw it upward. It made a loud clank but did nothing else useful. So, she did it again.

"What the hell are you doing!?" It was that senior earlier. "You're gonna get us killed!"

Kaoru had no say on that. What happens if the hatch opens? They can't climb over it. It was too far. And what if those men came down? What would she do? Make a pile of their unconscious body to make up a stair? Unlikely. Plus, she doesn't know how many men were up there nor she can take them on. They were probably armed.

She clicked her tongue as a response. "I don't want to spend the rest of my days stuck in this cold smelly room."

The senior gasped and lightly hit her back. "It's as if you're accepting our death! The triad will save us! I'm sure of it."

Kaoru was about to retort when the ship they were on suddenly tilted, sending them all at the right side.

"We're going to die!" The kid who was sulking earlier gave a shrill cry.

Kaoru would've shut him up if they weren't in this kind of situation. "We have to get to the other-"

The ship moved again. There was obviously something going on outside. It was tilting a bit more. Kaoru hoped that she could reach the hatch but it was still too far. She took one step and made a small splash.

 _Splash?_ It was dark and they couldn't see it. But they felt the water rising from their feet.

* * *

Momoko was fidgeting on her seat since Brick had left her a message that they found some students but not all of them. She was starting to pray in every god that she knew for her friend to be safe. She was starting to doubt and she hated it. She has to keep being positive.

She heard the doorknob shuffle. It swung open revealing a woman who was out of breath. "Red, watch this." She fixed her long black hair, grey eyes focused on Momoko's computer as she typed some codes. "It was publicly aired just seconds ago."

A video popped from the screen showing a silhouette of a man wearing the ugliest grin Momoko had ever seen. "I'm going to keep this short. All we asked was a simple alliance. It seems that we were more of a threat. You should've known who you were going up against. Nevertheless, we have a small fun fact for you.

"We _know_ who your _precious_ grandchild is. We've got the address too. So if I were you, I'd crawl out of that rathole and stop the cowardice, Mujihina."

"Mujihina?" Momoko turned toward her co-worker.

"I don't know him but apparently he was around decades ago." She tapped on the keyboard again, accessing the information of the said person. "He was a leader of some sorts."

Momoko's eye widened when she saw the younger photo of Mujihina. He had a mess of a purple hair with strikingly familiar green eyes.

"… _precious grandchild."_

 _It couldn't be- must be a coincidence._ Momoko mentally chanted.

* * *

At the Matsubara household, Tokio was having a conversation with the police through the phone. Dai and Shou were completely worried but their mother warned them not to panic over this even though she was the one who's most likely to throw a fit.

"Nee-chan's strong, right?" Shou mumbled as they ate dinner. "She'd come home."

Dai patted Shou's head. "She'll be home soon."

Meanwhile, their mother had been silent the entire time. Mitsuko's head was full of anger and worry. She couldn't stop herself from blaming _him._ If he hadn't sent gifts- no, she couldn't blame him. She was partly at fault. If she didn't agree to that compromise, maybe this wouldn't happen. Still, if they knew who exactly to kidnap then why were there other students?

 _They said grandchild not granddaughter. They don't know. Yes, they don't._

* * *

"Shit. Butch, can't you fight with minimal damage?" Boomer straightened up an _innocent_ fishing boat that was almost sunk by the said person. It was near the cargo ship where the hostages were kept.

"Well, is it broken?" Butch grinned as he punched the person manning the cannon.

"You know what I'm implying." Boomer kicked the last enemy on the cargo ship where some students were locked up.

"The rescue boats are ready. Here give these to the hostages." Brick handed Butch some life vests and immediately dashed off to check the other ships.

Butch was about to toss it to Boomer but he gave the middle finger and took off. Butch growled and turned to the hostages. Some even flinched at the face he was showing.

"Go help your- _fucking_ -selves." Tossing the stuff off of his hands, he was about to go after them when he spotted the fishing boat earlier looking a little bit over-submerged by the sea. _Shit. It was broken after all._

* * *

 _Fuck. We're sinking._

The water was already above their waists and somehow the ship miraculously straightened itself up.

"Do all of you know how to swim?" Kaoru suddenly asks only to be responded by a "We're going to die!"

Later on, she concluded that only the two of them, the other was the senior, could swim and they were seven of them inside. The water was moving faster. The level was now up on their shoulders. Kaoru had managed three people to cling unto her. They couldn't just move to the center, where the hatch was, Kaoru would sink along with the three people. She was glad there were pipes at edges.

"Okay, you two have to stay-" Before finishing her plan, Kaoru was interrupted by the noise outside. The voices were kind of muffled so they stayed still until the hatch was opened violently.

"You brats if you want to live then come with me." One of the armed men gestured with his pistol on hand. He then pulled in a long pole for us to hold unto. "Hurry!" He hissed.

The senior complied and made an assuring look. The first ones to go were those people who couldn't swim. Kaoru was the last one to step out of that prison. It also dawned in her how cold she was. It didn't help that it was breezy.

Then there were gunshots. Not aimed at them but someone behind. Her first instinct was to run but she was quickly grabbed by the enemy with a pistol aimed at her head. There hovered before them was Butch with an annoyed look.

"Don't make this hard for you. Drop the gun." He crossed his arms seemingly bored of what was happening.

"You don't get to give-" Kaoru allowed herself to fall down, catching the enemy off guard by the sudden shift of weight. Butch proceeded to knock the guy out in a flash.

In the corner of his eye, he saw two armed men ready to fire. Butch then had to shove Kaoru to a barricaded corner. "What the hell!?"

"Cover yourself. I don't need a handicap."

"A handicap?" Kaoru narrowed her eyes on Butch but then remembered the other students with her. She looked around and saw two of them hiding in a corner while the other four was still captured by the enemy. Looking closer at the two, behind them was an escape boat.

She looked back at Butch, who was proud of his work. He wiped out the entire armed men. The students thanked him, his ego feeding off of it.

"Hey guys, we found a small boat!" Kaoru ushered the four students.

When they were setting up the boat, they realized it could only fit six people. They had to decide. Seeing everyone was reluctant to be left behind, Kaoru volunteered.

"When's the rescue team gonna get here?" She watched as the students sail away, rubbing her hands for heat.

"We're not going to wait for them. The ship will sink by then." Butch grinned and gestured for a piggy back ride. "Just hop on."

"What!?" Kaoru's face flushed. This would probably the first on her list of most embarrassing moments. What choice does she have?

"Don't make it weird."

" _I wasn't_." She said with a venomous tone as she clung on his back.

* * *

 **Ch.3 end**

 **Thank you for reading! Reviews are encouraged.**


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